NC residents can now apply for Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' medical cannabis program – WLOS

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by Jennifer Emert
QUALLA BOUNDARY, N.C. (WLOS) — North Carolina residents can now apply for a medical cannabis patient card for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ (EBCI) medical cannabis program.

Since applications opened to tribal members in mid-April 2023, close to 200 people have applied.

Now open to the rest of the state, applicants must be a North Carolina resident, at least 21 years old and at minimum meet one of the 18 specified health conditions to qualify for a medical cannabis card.
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FILE – Area along Cooper's Creek where the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are growing cannabis for their newly established medical program. Over a year after its launch in 2022, News 13 is looking at the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' medical cannabis program to see how the application process is going, how they're doing with funding and when sales may begin. (Photo credit: WLOS Staff)

"Tribal code and the Eastern Band determined what categories would allow a patient to qualify for the program, and those qualifications were put into an application that a patient can take to a medical health care provider and then obtain their health care information and send it into us to get a patient card," said EBCI Cannabis Control Board Chairman David Wijewickrama.

News 13 got a first look at what the patient cards look like.

EBCI-CCB Patient Card (Photo Credit EBCI-CCB)

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The cards have embedded technology that tracks a patient's basic information and monthly consumption. Each card is laser etched with the patient's image and a barcode to prevent fraud.

Here’s a list of the qualifying conditions according to the EBCI-CCB website:
You can find the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Cannabis Control Board application process HERE.
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